The Bishop of Newcastle received the following written answers on 24th October 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the financial impact that the five-week wait has on those awaiting their first Universal Credit payment.
Baroness Sherlock (Lab, DWP): No assessment has been made of the financial impact of the 5-week-wait. The Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty.
The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of its design.
When customers are paid Universal Credit is determined by the date of entitlement. The first payment is usually made around five weeks after the claim is made. The first calendar month is the initial assessment period. At the end of that period, entitlement for that month is calculated and paid 7 days later. Payments thereafter are made monthly in arrears.
It is not possible to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made as the assessment period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated.
If new customers need support before their first payment is made, all new customers can request an advance of their entitlement to support them. New Claims Advances of up to 100% of potential UC entitlement are available urgently if a customer needs support during their first assessment period and budgeting support is available for anyone who needs extra help.
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to extend the provision of free school meals to all children living in households in receipt of Universal Credit.
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab, DfE): The government is driving an agenda of change through working across local and national government to break down the barriers of opportunity and reduce child poverty.
Child poverty has increased by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. That is why the government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start at life. To support this, a new Ministerial taskforce has been set up to begin work on a Child Poverty Strategy, co-chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
To set children up for the day and ensure they are ready to learn, while also supporting parents and carers to work, the government is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school.
Disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools, as well as 16 to 18 year old students in further education, are entitled to receive free meals on the basis of low income. 2.1 million disadvantaged pupils are registered to receive free school meals (FSM) and a further 90,000 are registered to receive further education free meals. In addition, all children in reception, year 1 and year 2 in England’s state-funded schools are entitled to Universal Infant Free School Meals, which benefits around 1.3 million pupils. As with all government programmes, we will keep our approach to FSM under review.
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle asked His Majesty’s Government:
- how they plan to consult and engage with local groups and schools as part of the child poverty taskforce.
- with which external experts from the region of the North East they plan to engage as part of their child poverty taskforce.
Baroness Smith of Malvern: Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
The Child Poverty Taskforce, co-chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has started urgent work to develop the Child Poverty Strategy, setting out the plan to reduce child poverty and deal with impacts that poverty has on children’s lives.
The Taskforce held its second meeting on 19 September and heard from local leaders, including the North East Mayor, about the challenges faced in different communities and how the Taskforce can best work with mayors, local authorities and other bodies to develop innovative solutions to tackle child poverty. This marked the first of a series of thematic sessions with key organisations, charities and experts on specific topics that will help to shape the government’s ambitious Strategy.
The government also recognises the importance of capturing the experiences of those living in poverty, which is why the Taskforce will also draw on findings from wider external engagement events in all regions and nations of the UK. These events will convene a broader range of voices, including front line staff and the perspectives of families and children themselves.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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